September quarter sees new home commencements rise in Victoria

Those considering buying real estate in the city of Knox may be interested to know that recent data shows new home commencements in Victoria rose in the September quarter.

Australian Bureau of Statistics information showed that the southern state recorded a 2.9 per cent increase – with only New South Wales and Western Australia doing better.

The national data found that construction of new properties grew two per cent in the three-month period, with Housing Industry Association economist Geordan Murray applauding the news.

He commented: "With 37,027 commencements, this is the strongest quarterly result in over a year and no doubt assisted by the 75 basis points cut from the official cash rate over May and June last year.

"There was [a] decline of 1.3 per cent in the number of multi-unit dwellings commenced in the quarter, but the level remains 5.1 per cent higher than the level recorded in the corresponding quarter a year ago."

Western Australia recorded a 23.6 per cent rise in dwelling commencements, with New South Wales seeing a 9.5 per cent increase.

These states and Victoria compared favourably with other states – the worst performance of which was a 29.9 per cent decline in the Northern Territory.